The new regulations take effect from the end of this week, but Microsoft has said that it intends to provide the same privacy provision to all of its customers, regardless of location.

In the blog, Julie Brill - corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, Microsoft, wrote: "We believe GDPR establishes important principles that are relevant globally... we're committed to moving forward now to take concrete steps to help strengthen people's privacy protection.

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"That's why today we are announcing that we will extend the rights that are at the heart of GDPR to all of our consumer customers worldwide. Known as Data Subject Rights, they include the right to know what data we collect about you, to correct that data, to delete it and even to take it somewhere else."

Microsoft said that its privacy dashboard, available in the Edge browser, will help users to manage their privacy settings. The company also has 1,600 engineers across the company working on GDPR projects and says it has made significant investments to redesign its tools, systems and processes to meet the requirements of GDPR.

"GDPR is an important step forward for privacy rights in Europe and around the world, and we've been enthusiastic supporters of GDPR since it was first proposed in 2012. It sets a strong standard for privacy and data protection by empowering people to control their personal information," Brill added.

"We believe privacy is a fundamental human right. As people live more of their lives online and depend more on technology to operate their businesses, engage with friends and family, pursue opportunities, and manage their health and finances, the protection of this right is becoming more important than ever.

"Privacy is also the foundation for trust. We know that people will only use technology that they trust. Ultimately, trust is created when people are confident that their personal data is safe and they have a clear understanding of how and why it is used. This means companies like ours have a huge responsibility to safeguard the privacy of the personal data we collect and the data we manage for our commercial customers."